Family Reunion
by Dp-Marvel94
Summary: For Phango. Prompts used- Setting: Family Reunion, Wes Weston, Aunt Alicia, Stuck in the thermos. And Identity Reveal…kinda (does it count if Wes had already worked out that Fenton was Phantom but hadn't seen him actually transform so wasn't completely sure?)


Danny Fenton was currently bored out of his mind, but that's what happens when the only people around his age at the family reunion were his sister and the weird conspiracy theorist kid from school. Yes, somehow Wes Weston was related to him, his second or third cousin or something like that. His mom had explained the relation to him at some point but Danny didn't really remember. She'd said that Walter Weston, Wes's father, was her first cousin, making Wes a definite if distantly related family member.

Right now, Danny sat on the couch at his grandparent''s house. He scrolled on his phone, deliberately ignoring the redhead boy. On the armchair beside Danny, Wes also frowned and scrolled through his own device. In the other room, the adults chatted while the younger kids played. Danny could also hear Jazz talking to one of their uncles, who was a professor, about her college plans.

Beside him, Wes snickered. "Hey Phantom. Check this out." He shoved the phone in Danny's face, revealing a rather embarrassing picture of the other teen in ghost form slamming into a wall. "Pretty embarrassing, right?" Wes grinned.

Danny pushed the phone away. "Looks pretty painful to me." Danny wrinkled his nose and then his eyes lit up mischievously. "Ya know Wes, I get that my last name sounds kinda close to Phantom but I didn't think you were stupid enough to get the two mixed up."

Wes crossed his arms. "You're the one whose stupid." He hissed. "I mean, come on! Danny Fenton, Danny Phantom. It sounds the same! And you didn't even both to change your first name!"

The other boy narrowed his eyes but waved off the other boy. "That's ridiculous. Danny's a pretty common name. That doesn't mean anything."

"But you look the same! How does no one else see this?" Wes put his hands on his head.

Trying to appear casual, Danny leaned back. "Because, they're nothing to see, Weston." He went back to scrolled on his phone while the other boy huffed.

Just after, Danny's aunt, Alicia, walked in. "You two are seriously on your phones, ignoring each other?" She crossed her arms.

The black haired teen looked up. "I see enough of him at school."

"That's not the only place, Phan-" Before Wes could finish the statement, the other boy elbowed him.

"Will you stop it?!" Danny snapped.

"Why, you little." The redhead balled his fist, punching Danny in the shoulder, a little too hard to be considered friendly.

"Both of you stop it!" Both boys heads snapped to the now angry woman in front of them, having forgotten that they were not alone. "Now, I know yall don't get along but you're family. You need to at least try."

"But Aunt Alicia…" Danny argued.

"No buts. Now y'all figure yourselves out. Go take a walk, play some cornhole, actually talk to each other like the young men y'all are growin' to be. Or so help me, I'll be getting both your parents, ya hear."

Both teens paled at that. Danny definitely did not want his parents to hear what Wes had been saying about him. That could spell disaster. He swallowed. "Yes, ma'am." Beside him, the other boy nodded.

Satisfied, Aunt Alicia nodded. "I'll see you boys in a bit then. Behave yourselves now." The woman then returned to the kitchen, where the other adults were.

Danny leaned back and sighed, giving Wes a side eyed glance while the other boy crossed his arms. As much as he really, really did not want to hang out with Wes, the other teen did not see an alternative. He shrugged. "So...do you want to play cornhole then?"

The redhead raised his eyebrow. "Cornhole?" After a pause, he continued flippantly. "Sure, why not?"

Both boys stood up and continued through the front door of the house. They walked around the side of the house, to the large yard in the back where several of their younger cousins were also playing. Finding the two cornhole boards set up, Danny picked up one of the beanbags. "Do you want red or blue?"

"I'll take the red." Wes grabbed the bag in Danny's hand and then bent down to pick up the other 3 red bags.

Nodding, Danny grabbed his own bags. Walking beside one of the boards, he positioned himself for his first throw, with his arm swung back to release the bag.

"Wait." Wes put his hand in front of him, motioning to the other boy to stop. "We need to set the rules first."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Weston? Fine. It's 3 points of your bean bag goes in the hole, 1 if it lands on the board but doesn't go in. The first person to…. 21 points wins."

"Don't know? That sounds kinda arbitrary to me." The redhead replied skeptically.

"Arbitary's a big word for someone who can't read the rules literally printed on the board." Danny replied deadpan as he pointed to the cornhole board.

Wes glanced down, blushing when he saw Danny was right. He tried to wave the comment (and his oversight) off. "Whatever, Fenton. Let's just play."

Danny threw his beanbag and the game began, as he managed to miss his first four throws. Wes snickered as his first and second bag went in. The game continued until Wes was winning 19 to 10. "If I make this next one, I win." He stated with a grin.

Throwing the bag underhand, the beanbag first hit the ground before landing on the board. Wes fist pumped. "Yes! I win."

"No you don't." Danny crossed his arms, sour about Wes being so close to winning. "It doesn't count if it hits the ground before landing."

The other boy threw up his hands. "What! That's ridiculous. There's no way that's actually a rule!"

"It is. I'll google it." Quickly looking up the official rule (because yes those were a real thing, yes Danny had looked them up before - his family was very competitive- and yes he somehow remembered that random fact), the black haired boy smugly shoved his phone in Wes's face. "Read it and weep."

Wes's jaw dropped and then he frowned, crossing his arms. "Fine. It doesn't count. But I still only need one more point."

Completing his final throw of this round, Wes sent the bag flying through the hole with a celebratory shout and a mocking grin.

Slightly mortified that Wes actually beat him, Danny tried to wave off the other boy's reaction. "Wow, good job Wes." His voice bleed sarcasm. "You managed to beat wimpy, non-athletic Danny Fenton. Such an impressive achievement."

Now Wes rolled his eyes. "I know you're not actually a wimp ...then again, I figured your aim would be much better than that, with all the ectoblasts you shoot."

"Ya know, you're right." Danny's face broke into a shit-eating grin. "I am very handy with an ectogun. Comes with having ghost hunters for parents."

The redhead, who had been grinning triumphantly at the first part, huffed. Then after a moment, his smile stretched into a wicked grin. "We should play again...but." He casually tossed a bag between his hands. "We should heighten the stakes though."

"What do you have in mind?" The blackhaired teen asked.

"A bet. If you win, I'll stop telling everyone you're Phantom."

Danny's eyes widened. That was...unexpected. In his experience, Wes was never one to give up an idea, no matter how crazy, if he thought he was right. But…. "What's in it for you?"

The redhead grinned wider. "If I win, you show everyone that you are Phantom."

"Yeah...no, nope." The other teen replied flippantly.

"What? Are you scared?" The redhead mocked.

Yes, actually. Danny was scared of revealing himself as Phantom, intentionally or by accident. Pushing down that thought, he responded mockingly in turn. "Of course not. Because there's nothing to show!"

"Yes, there is!" Wes spread his arms. "It's obvious! Same first name, same voice. You look pretty much the same. You're always disappearing right before Phantom shows up. You even use your parents tech for crying out loud!"

"I mean...my Dad will give gadgets to anyone so that doesn't prove anything." Danny shrugged.

"Your dad wouldn't give ghost hunting gear to a ghost! At least not one he knows about." The redhead gripped his hair. "Why is everyone else in the stupid town blind?!"

Now Wes was really getting on his nerves. The biting comments came out with barely a thought. "Because, unlike you, they're not crazy!"

"I'm not crazy!" The other boy waved his hands, face turning red.

"You're doing a great job of showing it, yelling like a lunatic in front of all our relatives!"

"You'll see. They'll all see. Make my words, Phantom."His eyes figuratively glowed with malice. "I'll expose you and everyone will see how much of a freak you are."

That word, freak, cut into his heart like a knife. "Stop it!"

"No! I will not stop! It might take weeks, months but I will get proof. I'll catch you on video, in a picture. And everyone will see that I was right!"

The thought of being revealed sent a spike of fear through the other boy. "Shut up!"

"Everyone will see. Our classmates, our teachers, our parents, the media. The whole freaking country. Even the president will know that Phantom's really just a scared kid and that Fenton's an inhuman freak!"

The cruel words bit into Danny's mind and heart. His hands shaking, whether in anger or fear he did not know, the boy screamed. "Shut up!" The words rang with a ghostly echo as horrified, Danny felt his eyes turn ectoplasmic green.

Across from him, Wes paled, his mouth falling open. "I was right." He whispered, shocked.

Danny himself paled. Damnit! He had been so careful. Before then, he hadn't ever done anything in front of Wes to realize his ghostly nature. And now...now Wes would be more determined than ever, assured of his cause.

As the moment passed, Wes's shocked expression turned into a confident grin. "I knew it! I knew it! I was right!"

The much too flippant words ignited anger in Danny's gut. In the blink of an eye, he gripped Wes's arm inhumanly hard. Flickering both of them invisible, he dragged Wes out of the yard and well out of earshot of any eavesdropping family members.

Returning to visibility, he maintained his hold on Wes, glaring daggers at the other boy. Astonishingly, Wes stilled grinned. "Well there's no denying that you're Phantom now. And I'm going to tell everyone. What are you going to do about it?"

Danny growled. "I'm going to talk while you shut up and listen!"

"I'm sorry. I don't take order from freaks like you, Fenton." The words dripped with contempt.

"No! I said shut up! I know how much of a freak I am." His nose wrinkled, responding in kind to the redhead's attitude. "I don't need an insecure attention hog like you reminding me!"

"I don't care! I'm still going to show everyone and you can't stop me!" Wes's grin widened, slightly manic.

"What the hell do you think happens to me if everyone finds about me being Phantom?!"

Wes's mouth snapped shut, as the question seemed to catch Wes off guard. "I don't know. It doesn't matter. Everyone will finally believe me!"

The glow of Danny's eyes brightened as his grip on Wes increased. The halfa could feel his teeth lengthening into his fangs as he bared his teeth. "It doesn't matter?! I'll end up on a dissection table!"

At the threatening display, Wes's eyes widened with something that might have been fear, though he tried to sound confident. "That...that's ridiculous. You're exaggerating."

"Exaggerating, really?!" Danny removed his hand as Wes winced at the volume, tone, or the other boy's tight grip; the halfa didn't know which. "Do you have any idea how many people want to experiment on Phantom now, when they think I'm just a ghost? The Guys in White, other ghost hunters, my own freaking parents?"

Wes shook his head. "No, that's not true. Everyone loves Phantom."

"No, they don't. Most people think I'm a nuisance...or they're scared of me." He paused, frowning as his green eyes bore into Wes's. "And ghost hunters? Sure, they would love me...as a lab rat."

The redhead averted his gaze. "No...no...they….ummm...wouldn't do that. Not if they knew you were just a human kid."

At the statement, Danny laughed, humorlessly. "I'm not human, Wes." His eyes narrowed. "If I got found out and captured, most hunters wouldn't care. They would still strap me to a lab table."

"No..that's…" Wes tried to argue, slightly pale.

Danny cut him off. "The GIW would think I'm even more valuable. A one of a kind specimen." He spit out the word with disgust. "They would love to see what makes me tick. To tortue me until I begged for my life. And they wouldn't care that I'm half human, not one bit."

Wes paled and swallowed, shaking his head. He opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out.

At the other boy's silence, Danny continued. "And my parent? They might stop, maybe. If they believe me, if they think I'm still their son." His voice tinged with intense desperation. "Or they could think I'm just dead, or an imposter. Just a ghost. I could scream and flail and beg them. Show them I'm their son and they think it's a trick, an act. That all of my emotions, my pain aren't real!" Despite himself, the halfa felt tears welling at the thought. "They could kill me and not even realize until after." His voice lowered into a barely audible whisper. "It's not like they noticed the first time."

With Wes now staring at him wide-eyed, Danny stopped, with nothing more to say. The black haired boy roughly wiped the still collecting tears from his eyes. He wasn't going to cry in front of Wes Weston, for crying out loud! He silently cursed himself for letting so much slip; he had been much to vulnerable. Danny looked down with his hands in his pockets, idly kicking some leaves up. He glanced at Wes briefly, whose expression was a hard-to-read mix of emotions.

"I'm…" The redhead opened his mouth to speak, just as a wisp of blue mist exited Danny's mouth.

Both boys' eyes widened. Then the halfa whipped around as a scream run out from near the house. Panic flairing, Danny looked to the other boy and made a split second decision. Screw it, Wes already knew about him, there was no point wasting time running off to transform. The rings of light and energy formed around Danny's waist and moved, changing him. Wes jumped back startled, his mouth falling open at the sight.

Soon Danny floated in front of him in Phantom form. "I've got a ghost to deal with. Don't do anything stupid, Weston."

Not waiting for a response from the dumb-founded teen, the halfa flew off. Within seconds, he was back in the yard where Wes and he had played cornhole earlier. Some kind of ghostly beast- a part cat, part snake, part goat...thing with multiple heads- stalked the yard, hissing. Quickly scanning the yard and finding to free of any people, Danny sighed in relief, until the beast pounded towards him. The ghost boy shot an ectoplast at its snake-like head but the long neck whipped it out of the way. He swizzled around the beast, shooting ectoblasts and ice while dodging its teeth, claws, and hooves. The ghost swiped at him, hissing as a shard of ice pierced its eye. Turning intangible, Danny avoided the paw but he failed to notice its tail. The scaley appendage knocked him out of the air and before he could get up, the beast pounced on him, barely missing his leg.

He flew above the creature's reach and out of the corner of his eye, Danny noticed Wes sprinting down the gravel path towards the path. So much for Wes not doing anything stupid. The beast struck at him again as Danny reached for his thermos. His eyes widened in panic when he didn't feel it on his belt like it normally was. Shooting another blast at the creature, the hafla glanced at the house, his frown deepening. He'd left his thermos inside the house, that was full of adults and kids who didn't deal with ghost fights on a daily basis. With no foreseeable way to get the device, Danny's eyes lit up blue; maybe he can freeze it in place until he managed to get the thermos.

Flying down to one of the beast's legs, the halfa projected the ice out of his core, commanding it to envelop the appendage. Danny grinned with success as the ice spread, until fire lit from the beast's fur, melting the ice. Well, that wasn't going to work. Distracted by the thought, Danny doesn't notice another paw swiping at him. The beast pinned him to the ground, claws digging into his ghost boy yelped in pain.

Then a shout comes from beside him. "Da...Phantom!"

Flailing to escape, Danny's head whipped to the side to see a distressed Wes hiding under one of their relative's pick-up trucks. With no other thought than getting away from this beast, the halfa yelled. "Wes! The thermos! It's in my bookbag, on the couch."

Turning his attention back to the ghost, Danny couldn't see what Wes did next. Still pinned by the leg, the ghost boy turned his legs into a ghostly tail and slipped out of the creature's grip, only to be knocked into a tree. With the wind knocked out of him, the ghost boy shot up, aiming another blast at the beast. After several more moments of bobbing and weaving to avoid the beast's claws and teeth, Danny was knocked to the ground again.

Then, with a shout from someone and the sound of the thermos firing up, Danny was drowned in white light and was pulled into the device.

At suddenly being forced incorporeal, the halfa's mind spun with panic. They were supposed to catch the other ghost, not him! And he had no idea what happened with that ghost! Was his family safe? Did it hurt anyone?!

Danny strained, trying to hear anything but it was no use. If he could shiver, he would. He hated the stupid thermos! He couldn't hear, see, or feel anything, forced to exist as just a mind. For someone who still primarily saw himself as human, it was torture, being trapped so powerless and disconnected. He waited for what could have been 1 second or 1 year. That was the other thing. His sense of time was so messed up in here.

The wait made his anxiety grow. He didn't even know who had captured him. Feat flashed through his mind. It was probably his parents. They would take a chance at capturing Phantom above another ghost any day. They were probably celebrating now and then they would throw him in a cage and experiment on him. If he had a heart right now, it would be beating out of his chest. Damnit! He had just earlier told Wes about his worst fears regarding his parents (unintentionally) and now it was going to happen!

His mind fluttered to Wes, who he'd sent for his thermos. Wes, who hadn't cared what would happen if he was discovered. Who barely reacted when he shared some of his deepest fears. Had...had the other boy betrayed him? Using his confessed fears against him and selling him out to his parents. Danny knew Wes was a littel crazy but had hoped he wasn't completely demented! That maybe if he knew what was at stake for Danny, he would stop, like a rationale person with an ounce of compassion would. But Danny was wrong. He was going to die.

The halfa was figuratively thrown out of his thoughts as his body was literally thrown out of the thermos, resolidifying. Blinking in the light, which appeared very bright for someone who didn't have eyes a second ago, Danny found himself staring up at Wes who held the uncapped thermos. The ghost boy glared.

"So it was you."

Wes looked down, remaining silent. The lack of action ignited Danny's anger. "Congrats Weston. You managed to capture the elusive Phantom." He gave a slow, dramatic clap. "What are you gonna do? Sell me out to my parents, the GIW? It doesn't matter what happens to me, right? Everyone will believe you."

Wes finally met the halfa's eyes. His mouth opened and closed. Then he sighed. "You should probably turn back. Your parents are looking for you by now. Uhh...Fenton you. I wouldn't… I don't want them to find Phantom."

Danny's mouth fell open. "What?"

The other boy wrung his hands. "I...I heard them talking about what they wanted to do to Phantom, after I caught you. They managed to catch the other ghost and were pissed 'their prize' got away." He bit his lip. " I don't want them to hurt you."

The ghost boy focused on the redhead's wide eyes, having no idea how to process. With a flash of light, he transformed into his human form. Shock passed over Wes's face briefly then he shook his head, flopping down beside Danny who stared at his hands.

"I'm sorry, Danny." Wes whispered. Danny turned his head towards him, an eyebrow raised. The other boy continued. "I said a lot of horrible things to you. Like really awful, cruel things, that I shouldn't have…..I'm...uhhh...not going to try and convince people that you're Phantom anymore."

"Really?" Danny asked, still shocked but a little skeptical.

Wes nodded. "Yes. You were right. Being finding out would be horrible for you." The redhead finally meet Danny's eyes. "I don't want you to get dissected because of me."

Seeing the sincerity in Wes's eyes gave Danny pause. "Yes actually listened to me?"

Wes snorted. "Yeah. It was hard not to when you were sneering in my face. Plus I saw how your parents acted."

Danny whined. "Yeah, they can be a lot."

The redhead paused for a second, clearly debating whether or not to say this. "It must be horrible, hearing them talk about you like that."

Danny's jaw dropped. "If I didn't know better Wes, I would think you cared."

The other boy huffed looking genuinely offended. "I'm not a monster who wants you to be tortured! Of course I care, Danny!" The halfa continued to stare in awe as Wes backtracked. "I mean, not that we're friends now or anything but ...we can at least be decent to each other. We are family."

Danny's mouth curved into a shocked O shape at the statement. "You do have a point. We are family." Danny then sighed. "I need to apologize too. I also said some cruel things to you tpo. You aren't stupid. I...uhh...was actually impressed that you figured me out without actually seeing me transform, even if you trying to reveal me was annoying."

"Yeah. I was being an insecure attention hog." His inflection raised in realization. "I have been horrible to you, not just today but for a while. I...uhh...have a lot to make up for."

Wes just kept surprising him today. The halfa shrugged. "I was a little shit to you, right back. I don't have any hard feelings." The other boy blinked at him, shocked as Danny continued. "No really. I mean you trying to expose me was annoying but not even much of a problem, compared to the other crap I deal with although….I would still rather not deal with it."

Wes said nothing in response. They sat in awkward silence for a few moments before Danny spoke. "We should probably be getting back."

"Yeah" Wes stood, brushing leaves off his pants.

As Danny moved to stand, he winced at the pain in his ankle. Pulling up his pant leg, he wrinkled his nose at the long stretches. Luckily, they did not look too deep.

"We should probably wrap that when we get back." Wes offered his hand. "Let me help you up."

Danny took the offered hand, pulling himself to his feet. He winced at his ankle again, supporting himself against a tree. "I don't think I should walk on it yet. But I don't have a choice."

Wes came to stand beside the other boy, looping one arm behind Danny's back. "You can use me as a crutch. We need to get going."

The two hobbled along the path in silence, Danny still somewhat surprised at the situation. But then again, while Wes had always been annoying, he was not a horrible person. He actually apologized...and might have saved Danny from that ghost and his parents earlier. And now, he knew Danny's secret with 100% certainty.

Danny bit his lip, debating. "You know, you're pretty handy with a thermos."

"I guess I am. Yeah."

"So...do you want to join team Phantom? If you want to, that is. No pressure."

Wes raised his eyebrow. "Team Phantom?"

"It's what Sam and Tucker calls our...team. Me, the two of them, and sometimes Jazz. We hunt ghosts together and stuff."

Wes chuckled, eliciting a glare from Danny. "I'm sorry...but did you seriously name the team after you."

Danny shook his head. "It was Tucker's idea, not mine ...anyway, what do you say? About joining?"

After a pause, Wes shrugged. "Sure. Could be fun."

Fun? That wasn't what Danny expected him to say. But...Wes was right about it being fun at times. Danny nodded. "Cool then. And...uhh...if you ever want to sit with us at lunch, that's fine ...ya know, team bonding and stuff."

Wes stopped walking, causing Danny to stumble. The redhead put an arm in front of him to stabilize him. He then scrutinized the other boy. "Are you asking if I want us to be friends?"

Danny's eyes widened as he denied. "What? No."

Wes laughed. "If you say so. though... I might stop by at lunch once in a while. Ya know, team bonding."

The two kept stumbling through the woods until they arrived back at the house. Shockingly no one noticed the two boys were missing (a little sad honestly). After Danny's mom hovered over him to deal with his ankle, Alicia found the two chatting on the couch.

"I see you two are getting along better." The woman asked.

Wes looked at the other boy. "Yeah we are."

Danny nodded. "We played cornhole and then went for a walk. Talk about things."

"What did you talk about?" Alicia questioned.

"That's a secret." Danny smirked, eliciting a laugh from Wes.

Alicia rolled her eyes. "Ya'll don't have to share. I'll leave you to it."

The woman went back to chatting with the other adults and soon relatives started trickling out, families leaving one by one. Among the last to leave were the Fentons and the Westons. After hugs and well wishes from Danny's grandparents and his aunt, the four Fentons headed to the RV as Wes and his Dad walked to their car.

As Wes's dad, Walter, and Danny's mom hugged briefly, Wes gave Danny a friendly, though a little awkward, pat on the back. "I'll see you at school on Monday Danny."

The halfa nodded. "Yeah. See you then. Have a good weekend Wes."

As the redhead boy turned towards the car he arrived in, the other boy opened the door to the RV and stepped inside, ignoring the questioning look from his sister.

As he buckled his seatbelt and the RV pulled away from the house, the halfa finally realized something important. After letting him out of the thermos, Wes, who before always called him Fenton or Phantom, called him by his first name. Huhhh ...more proof of how things had changed and were changing between them. Danny had no doubt Wes could and would still be annoying at times and right now, the halfa didn't trust Wes as far as he could throw him (okay bad metaphor. With his ghostly strength, Danny could definitely throw Wes farther than was humanly possible). But both those things could change. And Wes had acted like he might want to change that, to make up for how he treated Danny in the past and help him with ghost hunting at least. And so Danny gained a new alli...and maybe a friend? Time would tell.


End file.
